Easy Broccoli Salad

broccoli salad with wooden salad utensils

5 from 10 votes

This broccoli salad recipe is perfectly crunchy, sweet and tangy, and loaded with bacon! It's the ultimate summer salad for BBQs, cookouts, and picnics. You'll adore the homemade creamy dressing.

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Total Time30

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: broccoli bacon salad, broccoli raisin salad, cold broccoli salad recipe, easy broccoli salad

Servings:

Author: Natasha Bull

Ingredients

Salad:

6 strips bacon (I prefer thick cut)
5-6 cups broccoli florets see note
1/2 cup dried cranberries or golden raisins
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Dressing:

1 tablespoon bacon fat from frying the bacon
3/4 cup mayo
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon white or cider vinegar
1 teaspoon white sugar
Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

Cut the bacon into small pieces (I use kitchen shears to make this easy) and fry in a skillet over medium-high heat until crispy (about 10 minutes).
Meanwhile, prep the remaining salad ingredients and add them to a large bowl.
Once the bacon is done, take it out of the skillet and transfer it to a paper towel lined plate. Add 1 tablespoon of the remaining bacon fat to a medium bowl that you'll make the dressing in.
To the dressing bowl, add the mayo, sour cream, vinegar, sugar and salt & pepper. Stir until smooth. Taste and adjust if needed (e.g. add more sugar or vinegar).
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss (add the bacon in as well). You can serve it right away or cover the bowl tightly and chill to let the flavors meld for an hour or two prior to serving. The salad will last for a few days in the fridge.

Notes

I recommend buying approximately 1.5 pounds of broccoli because when cut, it will make about 5-6 cups, or buy a one pound bag of pre-cut broccoli florets. I like to chop the florets fairly small for broccoli salad so they're easy to eat.
Be sure to dry off the broccoli well if you've rinsed it.
This salad is very forgiving! Feel free to leave an ingredient out if you don't like it... e.g. omit the cheddar. Or add more/less of an ingredient.

Nutrition